Baby Review: An Astute Portrait of LGBTQ+ Brazilian Survivors Lost in the Established Order

Evoking the metropolitan unease and vibrancy of São Paulo, filmmaker Caetano's gripping drama centres on those who exist on the margins of an ever-changing metropolis. Fresh out of juvenile prison, 18-year-old Wellington (the actor João Pedro Mariano) stands at a pivotal juncture; abandoned by his parents, the innocent young man seeks comfort in the arms of others.

On an late-night excursion with his lively group of queer and non-binary friends, Wellington meets Ronaldo (actor Ricardo Teodoro), a hunky, charismatic hustler significantly older than his age. Shrouded in the flickering glow of a XXX cinema, their initial encounter is sensuous and erotic, with an edge of danger. Ronaldo swiftly initiates Wellington to the shadowy world of prostitution and narcotics trafficking.

A Portrait of Understanding Rather Than Sensationalism

The film illustrates Wellington’s new life of crime with compassionate understanding rather than as a sensationalist cautionary tale. Now adopting the moniker Baby, he engages in his paid liaisons with swaggering confidence and endearing innocence. To his customers, Wellington provides not just his youth and his body, but also moments of care.

In the feverish excitement of São Paulo, overflowing with busy lanes and brightly painted facades, there’s a gnawing loneliness, as unmoored souls cling on to one another for temporary happiness.

"The city might be riddled with risk, yet they are also the space where they can forge familial bonds, too."

A Complex Dynamic of Affection and Power

Ronaldo is at once a romantic interest and a protective father figure to Wellington, but their relationship is derailed by envy and economic precarity. Threats from shady figures in the criminal underworld seem minor next to the dread of state surveillance and jail time, symbolized by the looming presence of police officers on patrol.

Baby is most powerful as a perceptive study of the lost people who have slipped through the gaps the established structure. The film stands as a moving examination into survival, non-biological kinship, and the quest for self within a unforgiving urban landscape.